By Ben Levisohn

Gross gaming revenue for tables and slots for the first 21 days of July generated an average daily rate (ADR) of MOP964MM. For the week, the ADR was MOP1,086MM, up from the prior week of MOP843MM. Given the last few days of the month are weekdays, we would expect the ADR to drop in the normal range of MOP800MM-MOP900MM. This would result in July increasing in the 19%-21% range. This is up from our previous expectation of a 13%-15% gain.

But even that piece of good news contains a wrinkle of its own: “We note that the comparison to the prior year should be easier since last July was negatively impacted by Typhoon Vicente, a category 4 typhoon, that hit Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong on July 23,” Kempf says. Nor does it help that investors continue to fret about the problems in China’s economy.

As a result, moves in Macau casino stocks have been muted. Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL) has gained 0.3% to $23.85, MGM Resorts International (MGM) has ticked up 0.2% to $15.97, while Las Vegas Sands, which I recommended on July 20, has dropped 0.5% to $54.71.

About Emerging Markets Daily

Emerging markets have been synonymous with growth, but the outlook for individual nations is constantly changing. Countries from Brazil and Russia to Turkey face challenges including infrastructure bottlenecks, credit issues and political shifts. Barrons.com’s Emerging Markets Daily blog analyzes news, data and research out of emerging markets beyond Asia to help readers navigate the investment landscape.

Barron’s veteran Dimitra DeFotis has been blogging about emerging market investing since traveling to India and Turkey. Based in New York, she previously wrote for Barron’s about U.S. equity investing, including cover stories and roundtables on energy themes. Dimitra was among the first digital journalists at the Chicago Tribune and started her career as a police reporter at the Daily Herald in the Chicago suburbs. Dimitra holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Columbia University, where she was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in the business and journalism schools. She studies multiple languages and photography.